A sub-category of News.
Late in the 19th century, when the question of votes for women was controversial even among those well on the left side of political opinion, Lord Salisbury—the longest serving prime minister of the Victorian era and leader of its staunchest conservatives—had no objection to female suffrage. Committed to the traditional view that holders of elected…
Immigration is an issue with a unique American twist because we are, for the most part, a nation of immigrants. As Bill Murray said in the movie Stripes, “We’re Americans! And you know what that means? It means our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world.” In the current debate, though,…
When I first heard Donald Trump’s plan to help Israel remove the Palestinian population of Gaza—over two million people by most accounts—and turn Gaza into the “riviera of the Middle East,” I thought it was a joke. Since the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering nearly 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping almost…
At the time of this writing, Pope Francis is in critical condition at Gemelli University Hospital in Rome with a complex case of pneumonia in both lungs and early-stage kidney failure. Before all else, we pray for his well-being and peace. But death is in the air. The Swiss Guard have held funeral rehearsals. The…
Let’s face it, there will always be people of privilege—the so-called Beautiful People—armed with advantages far beyond the reach of everyone else. Beyond even the wildest dreams of everyone else. “You are truly rich,” wrote Henry James, whose stories are filled with such people, “if you can meet the demands of your imagination.” Such people…
On the day of President Trump’s near-assassination, July 13, 2024, I was the priest who met him, spoke with him, and prayed for him. In that private moment, I witnessed firsthand a man who spoke with conviction about the struggle for justice for the long-suffering Ukrainian people, particularly regarding Ukraine’s sovereignty and the need to…
Our Mass formularies for pre-Lent and Lent go back to at least the time of St. Gregory the Great (+604), and certainly before. What was going on back in the day? Plague and famine had ravaged the population. The invading Lombards threatened Rome itself with sword and fire. Both for Septuagesima and this Sexagesima Sunda…
Above: Cristóbal de Villalpando – The Betrothal of the Virgin to Saint Joseph While most articles on fasting and abstinence focus on the requirements, customs, and traditions associated with food and drink, there are also customs in the Tradition of Christian spouses abstaining from the marital act in line with liturgical life. This is known…
In the current issue of the St. Austin Review, Daniel J. Mahoney writes of Malcolm Muggeridge, describing him in the title of his essay as a “vendor of words, scourge of ideology, Catholic convert, and witness to the truth.” In introducing Muggeridge to a new generation of readers, Dr. Mahoney commences by describing him as…
For a thousand years, the wound of the schism has tormented the East and the West. For many centuries, attempts have been made to heal this schism at various levels, and for several decades now, a modern ecumenical dialogue has been ongoing between the Catholic Church and various Orthodox Churches. Having quickly addressed almost all…
